BMW transformed South Carolina’s economy when it opened its Greer manufacturing plant 20 years ago. The transformation continued last week when the automaker announced an expansion in South Carolina that emphasizes the importance of this one facility to the entire state’s economic success.

On Friday, the company announced it would expand its only North American manufacturing plant with a $1 billion investment that will add 800 jobs and increase production capacity by 50 percent to 450,000 vehicles a year by 2016, according to a report in The Greenville News. This is a significant economic development announcement for the entire state given the way the automaker helps drive South Carolina’s economy.

The growth at BMW has been astounding. The company’s initial investment in Greer was $444 million and the plant employed 1,900 when it opened. This is the fifth expansion at the plant and makes it BMW’s largest manufacturing facility in the world.

The company will build its latest vehicle, the X7 full-size SUV at the Greer plant. The new vehicle, a three-row SUV will compete with larger vehicles manufactured by Mercedes and Cadillac. The vehicle fills a gap in BMW’s line of automobiles, according to one analyst quoted by The News. “These vehicles are also extremely profitable, so not only was BMW letting its competitors roam freely in that segment, it was leaving a lot of money on the table,” John McElroy told the newspaper.

BMW also will eventually produce a plug-in hybrid version of the X5, officials announced.

When talking about BMW and what it has done for this state’s economy, the superlatives begin to sound like an embarrassment of riches:

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BMW is the largest U.S. vehicle exporter to non-NAFTA countries, sending $7.5 billion of vehicles out of the country in 2013.

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The company’s total capital investment in South Carolina is more than $6 billion.

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The company has an annual economic impact on the state of $16.6 billion, according to a study by the University of South Carolina.

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BMW’s presence in Greer supports more than 30,000 jobs in South Carolina.

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Each job created at the BMW plant generates an additional three jobs elsewhere in the state.

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BMW has 40 suppliers in South Carolina, and when the plant’s workforce grows those suppliers generally add workers, too.

Manfred Erlacher, president of BMW Manufacturing Co., said at a news conference last week, “The increase in annual capacity, the number of models produced and the number of jobs on site reinforce the major role BMW is playing in the region’s economic vitality through technological innovation, environmental stewardship and development of a highly skilled workforce.”

These are the reasons BMW’s announcement last week was met with praise from Gov. Nikki Haley, members of the area’s congressional delegation, and other economic development officials. They also are the reasons it is vital for South Carolina to seek out major employers such as BMW, Boeing and Michelin. They have a proven track record and when they commit to grow operations within a state or a region they generally deliver in ways that bear a lot of fruit.

South Carolina has nurtured its relationship with BMW right from the start. The jobs that BMW has delivered validate the effort in the early 1990s to lure BMW to a state that was hemorrhaging textile jobs that had long supported the state’s economy. The argument easily can be made that BMW is the most important employer in the state, especially given the symbolism that the company is a leader in the transformation from South Carolina’s old-style manufacturing economy of the textile industry to a modern era of high-tech manufacturing.

The 8,800 jobs in South Carolina that the company will soon provide is more than GE and Boeing, and just less than Michelin employs. The company also is responsible for the development of an automotive manufacturing and research cluster that has formed in the state, with the epicenter right here in the Upstate at BMW and Clemson’s International Center for Automotive Research.

The company’s most recent announcement also validates more recent decisions made by economic development leaders in South Carolina. Notable among those is the opening of the South Carolina State Ports Authority’s inland port in Greer. That facility was built in large measure to serve BMW, which initially will ship up to 20,000 containers per year through the inland port. That capacity undoubtedly will grow.

Obviously the direct benefit is clear. Eight hundred more jobs will be brought to Greer, and if the formula holds true more than 2,000 related jobs will be brought to the state.

As other manufacturers see how successful BMW has been in South Carolina they will be encouraged to take a look here, too. The success of BMW stands as proof South Carolina can provide a business-friendly environment, needed infrastructure in facilities such as the inland port, and a highly-skilled workforce that can build high-tech products such as luxury cars. That could lead to even more exciting economic development announcements in the future.